Recipe: Lemon and Pistachio Friands
Trying to think of a recipe to use up egg whites recently I settled on friands the French patisserie made with egg whites and almonds which are deliciously light and dangerously moreish. These lemon and pistachio friands have a richness from the nuts and freshness from the lemon zest that is perfect for this time of year. I have given the quantities per egg white below so you can scale up depending on what you have. This amount made six friands in a standard bun tin.
ingredients
1 egg white
30g butter
40g icing sugar
10g flour
20g ground almonds
Zest of half a lemon
10g pistachios finely chopped
Method
Preheat the oven to 180°C fan and place a flat baking tray inside to preheat. Melt the butter over a gentle heat or in brief microwave bursts then use a pastry brush to grease the inside of the bun tin generously as friands are prone to sticking. Set the remaining butter aside to cool fully.
Place the egg white in a bowl and whisk until frothy not soft peaks. Sieve the flour and icing sugar over the egg white then add the lemon zest and ground almonds and fold together lightly. Add the cooled butter and fold again until the mixture is smooth with no streaks.
Fill six holes of the bun tin to three quarters full and scatter with the chopped pistachios. Place the tin on the preheated baking tray in the oven and bake for around 20 minutes until risen and golden. Allow to cool slightly then unmould gently and transfer to a wire rack to cool fully although they are delicious warm.
A Seasonal Note
Published in early May these friands belong to Beltane, the Celtic season of blossom bright greens and lightness. Everything feels fresh and full of new energy and the combination of lemon almonds and pistachios echoes that spirit perfectly bright tender and full of promise for the Summer ahead.
